So-Called Friends
by AlchemyWriter
Summary: During the events of 'Mexican Joker', Kenny questions if his friends really care about him.


**I decided to write this as a prototype story for South Park fanfiction. I've been wanting to write one for months now but was never confident enough in my ability to write the characters correctly. I will welcome any criticism on my portrayal of the characters in this story as a way to improve. With that being said, let's begin.**

**I don't own South Park. It belongs to Trey Parker and Matt Stone.**

Kenny McCormick woke to the sound of his parents yelling at one another. He groaned as the last thing he remembered came back to him: a speeding car bearing down on him as he crossed the street. Once again, he'd been killed in some freak accident or unfortunate circumstance, and once again, nobody would remember.

As he climbed out of bed, he reached for his socks and shoes. Like every time he died, he woke up wearing his parka, even if he hadn't been wearing it when he died. That always confused him. He was finishing with getting dressed when he noticed the small figure sitting at the foot of his bed.

"(Morning, Karen.)"

His sister looked up at him. It was obvious that she'd been crying.

"Hi, Kenny."

Kenny wrapped Karen in a hug and tried to comfort her. He decided that Mysterion would pay her a visit that night as well, to help lift her spirits.

"I wish they wouldn't fight, Kenny. Parents are supposed to love each other."

"(I know, but that's how Mom and Dad are. I used to feel the same way about their shouting when I was little.)"

She looked at him in surprise. "You did?"

"(Yeah. Kevin used to comfort me like this too, before he got older and stopped. He mostly acts the way he does now because his friends think it's cool.)"

Karen looked a little sad at that fact.

"(Don't worry about it, Karen. I might have my own life, but I won't abandon you. Someday, things are gonna get better.)"

"Really?"

"(I promise. I'll always be here for you, Karen.)"

"Thanks Kenny! I know you and my Guardian Angel will take care of me!"

Kenny's parka hid his smile at that, but Karen still understood."

"(Okay, Karen. Go get ready for school. I'll pick you up afterwards.)"

She nodded and left his room. Kenny watched her go, before grabbing his school supplies and heading for the kitchen to grab their sorry excuse for a breakfast. Karen must have already gotten her things and left, as she wasn't there when he walked in. Grabbing a Pop-Tart, Kenny passed through the living room. His mother must have already left for work, and his father was already drunk on the couch, close to passing out. Kevin was nowhere to be seen. As he passed the TV, Kenny noticed the news was on. Apparently, every homegrown weed garden in town had exploded. Multiple people had died, and the police believed it to be the work of a new supervillain, Mexican Joker. Kenny shook his head at the stupidity of it and headed to the bus stop.

The bus stop was empty when he got there, to no surprise. Stan lived on his father's weed farm now and would already be on the bus when it got to Kenny's stop. Cartman had decided to call ICE on Kyle's family, so they were currently cooling their heels in a detention center until they could prove their status as US citizens. Cartman had tried the same thing on another kid, only to end up in ICE custody himself. Out of his friend group, Kenny was alone.

_I've been alone for a long time, _he thought to himself. Not for the first time, he wondered if Stan, Kyle, and Cartman were really his friends. They never really acted like it before then. They'd been pissed that he'd abandoned their bike parade plans. At least they'd been convinced that he was right after they met Jeff Bezos. Kenny hadn't been there for that, though, and had heard about it secondhand. Bezos had somehow made his family's Amazon Echo self-destruct when it heard his voice, taking him with it.

However, even before the bike parade, the other three boys had been willing to abandon him for their own plans. They'd abandoned him for trick or treating because he didn't have a phone to use the e-scooters, and he'd tried every other friend group in his grade before realizing everyone else had the same idea. He'd killed himself in Cthulhu's dimension to save his other friends trapped there, yet nobody acknowledged or thanked him for it. _Worse, _actually. Apparently, the others remembered him running away from Cthulhu BEFORE they were sent to that place. In their eyes, he'd been a coward.

He'd smashed his head in to free Moses from his conch shell prison. He'd electrocuted himself and frozen to death in order to save the lives of everyone in the hospital. He'd let himself be sent back to Hell in order to undo the destruction of the war caused by Kyle's mom.

Even when he didn't immediately die from something, his so-called friends didn't care that much. Sure, when he'd been dying of muscular dystrophy, Kyle and Stan had actually cared, and that touched him deeply. Stan had been so broken up about it, he couldn't even see him, it was so difficult. Kyle had stayed by his side until he DID die. Kenny would be forever grateful to them for that. Too bad that after he died, they'd immediately replaced him with Butters, then Tweek. They hadn't even remembered him DYING after he came back. He wanted to scream. Cartman had stiffed him on their bet about lighting a fart on fire. He'd been bet a hundred dollars, and hadn't seen a penny of it. Cartman had used him as a reason to get stem cell research legalized, and ended up cloning a pizza restaurant. Most of the time, the three didn't even SPEAK to him. It was just too much. At the sound of an engine, Kenny was stirred out of his thoughts. The bus was coming down the street. For a moment, Kenny considered stepping off the curb and letting it hit him. It wasn't like anybody would care, anyway. Then, he remembered his promise to Karen. _I'll always be here for you, Karen._ Sighing, Kenny waited for the bus to stop, and boarded. Stan looked up at him. Kenny had seen him through the window before the bus stopped, and it had looked like he was going to say something, but he didn't.

-Line Break-

Kyle Broflovski watched the ICE guards run down the hall, looking for Mexican Joker's flashback. As he did, he felt something in his head, and he felt the urge to shout, "YOU BASTARDS!" at nobody in particular, but the urge passed as quickly as it had come. Shaking his head, he walked back to the other kids.

**What did you think? I wanted to try my hand at writing the characters before I committed to a longer story, and this idea was born after watching "Mexican Joker." I don't know if Kyle and Cartman will be out of the ICE building in the next episode, but I realized that with them there, and Stan with his family's farm, Kenny is the only one of the four in South Park. Let me know what you thought in a review or PM. Until the next story!**


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